Cross Country

As a member of the American Rivers Conference, the University of Dubuque Women’s Cross Country team has established itself as a competitor and podium threat. The Spartans look to carry momentum into future seasons following a record-breaking 2014, 2015, and 2016. The Spartans Fabiola Ortiz raced her way to All-Central Region and was a 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships qualifier continue to reach new heights under the direction of Head Coach Rich Maleniak.

The Spartan women not only enjoy success on the course, but in the classroom showcased in the All-Iowa Conference Academic Team Members. On the national level, the Spartans have been awarded USTFCCCA Division III All-Academic Honors for seven consecutive seasons (2009-2015) as well as achieving the highest team GPA in the nation in 2015.

Heritage Trail and Mines of Spain are just two of the incredible training resources the Spartans utilize within the city of Dubuque’s running community.

Nov 17, 2018

University of Dubuque senior and 2018 American Rivers Conference Champion was the lone Spartan to run at the 2018 Division III NCAA Championships on Saturday, finishing in a time of 25:49.1 and 139th place.

Marysa Kiely

Year:

Freshman

High School:

Harlem

Hometown:

Loves Park, Ill.

Major:

Criminal Justice

Prep AccomplishmentsCross Country: Team MVP

Year:

Sophomore

High School:

North Linn

Hometown:

Walker, Iowa

Major:

Exercise Science

Prep AccomplishmentsAthletics: Qualified for state cross country her final three years... qualified for state track in the 1,500-meter run as a sophomore, the 4x800-meter relay as a junior, and the 4x400-meter relay as a senior.

Lucy Syverson

Year:

Sophomore

High School:

North Linn

Hometown:

Walker, Iowa

Major:

Exercise Science

Prep AccomplishmentsAthletics: Qualified for state cross country her final three years... qualified for state track in the 1,500-meter run as a sophomore, the 4x800-meter relay as a junior, and the 4x400-meter relay as a senior.

Chad Gunnelson is in his eighth season leading the track & field and cross country programs at UD. Recently, he was awarded the 2017 and 2018 IIAC Men's Indoor Track Coach of the Year and USTFCCCA Central Region Men's Coach of the Year. He has lead the Spartans to unparalleled success since his arrival in 2011.

In 2018, the Spartans men's track and field team claimed their second straight Iowa Conference Indoor Championship. It was the school's 13th league title in track and field. The Spartan women also posted their best point total at the IIAC Outdoor Championships, scoring 150.33 points for their best team finish in school history. At the national level, both the men's and women's teams achieved their highest ever NCAA team finish in 2018, the men 12th and women were 21st.

The cross-country program has had similar academic success with the men and women being named USTFCCCA All-Academic for the sixth and tenth consecutive years. On the course, they have placed 20 names to the UD Top-25 cross country performers list under Gunnelson including NCAA All-American Alec Bass (30th, 2016) and national qualifier Fabiola Ortiz (45th, 2016).

Prior to his arrival at UD, Gunnelson, a native of Madison, Wis., spent six years as the Head Track & Field Coach at Madison East High School for both the boy’s and girl’s teams. At Madison East, Gunnelson coached 22 school record holders and back-to-back state champions in 2010 and 2011. In his final year with the Purgolders, the team earned a 3.24 GPA, had four sectional champions, and placed all four state qualifiers on the podium at the WIAA state meet, including a state champion.

Along with coaching, Gunnelson was the owner and CEO of Athletic Republic, a sports performance training facility, from 2007 to 2011 where he built Athletic Republic into the largest training facility in the Madison area and trained youth, high school, college, and professional athletes along with Olympians.

Coach Gunnelson is actively involved in the sport beyond coaching. He serves as the central region representative on the USTFCCCA Division III track & field committee, the IIAC coaches' chairperson, and as the college coaches’ representative for the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. Gunnelson has spoken at high school clinics and the USTFCCCA National Convention. He currently holds the USTFCCCA Jumps Specialist Certification, Endurance Specialist Certification, Strength & Conditioning Certification, Track & Field Technical Certification, and Program Management Certification. He is also a Level 1 certified coach with USATF, a certified performance coach with USA Weightlifting, and is certified in the Functional Movement Screen.

Coach Gunnelson resides in Dubuque, Iowa with his wife Melissa, their son Dash, and his step-children Taylor and Evan.

Track and Field Coaching Record at the University of Dubuque

IIAC Finishes

Men

Women

Season

Indoor

Outdoor

Indoor

Outdoor

2012

4th

6th

7th

8th

2013

3rd

4th

6th

6th

2014

4th

4th

3rd

5th

2015

3rd

4th

3rd

5th

2016

5th

4th

4th

3rd

2017

1st

4th

4th

4th

2018

1st

2nd

4th

3rd

Richard Maleniak
Head Cross Country Coach / Assistant Track and Field Coach
MS, Illinois State University BS, UW-Eau Claire

Rich Maleniak enters his second season with the Spartans, and his first season as the head cross country coach. As the assistant track & field coach, he leads the middle distance, distance, and 400 meter runners for the program.

In Coach Maleniak’s first year, six school records were broken in events 400 meters and up, and 26 marks in those events landed in UD's top-10 all-time list. The Spartan men won back-to-back Iowa Conference Championships in 2018 with 18 points coming from distance runner Alec Bass who won the 3000 meters and was runner-up in the 5000 meters. He mentored IIAC 400 Meter Champion Colfay Pointer to a new UD record in the 400 meters and an indoor and outdoor berth to the NCAA Championships.

Prior to UD, Maleniak, a four-time USTFCCCA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year lead the women’s middle distance and distance runners at the University of St. Thomas (UST) for five seasons. Throughout his tenure at UST, Maleniak helped runners gain conference, region, and national success in cross country and track and field covering events from 600 to 10,000 meters.

At UST, Maleniak coached 29 individuals and relays to MIAC conference titles and 57 all-conference finishes. On the national level, Maleniak coached athletes to 20 - NCAA All-American performances in individual or relay events including back-to-back national titles in the distance medley relay (2015 & 2016) and a national championship in the indoor mile (2016). He has coached four USTFCCCA Regional Athlete of the Year award winners.

Maleniak helped lead the UST women's cross country team to the NCAA Championships for three consecutive seasons (2014-2016). He also coached three individuals to All-American performances at the NCAA DIII Cross Country National Championships, an 8th and 22nd place finish in 2012 and 13th place finish in 2014.

Before joining the St. Thomas staff in 2012, Maleniak spent the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant coach for the cross country and track and field teams at NCAA DI Illinois State University. While at ISU, he was responsible for on and off campus recruiting and implementing workouts for the distance runners. In 2011, women's cross country won their first Missouri Valley Conference title in program history. The Redbird distance crew also had six individual or relay Missouri Valley Conference champions in cross country and track and eight NCAA Regional Qualifiers.

Maleniak began his college coaching career at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as an assistant coach for the men's and women's track and field and cross country programs. Maleniak was in charge of developing workout plans for the 800 meter training group. He coached two NCAA All-Americans and his group set new school records in both the men's and women's 800 meter run and men’s 4x800 meter relay. He assisted with the women's cross country team as it improved from placing 12th at the NCAA Championship meet in 2006, to 8th place in 2007, and 5th place in 2008.

Maleniak earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Chemistry with an emphasis in business in 2002, and earned a master’s degree in Sports Management from Illinois State University in 2011. As a competitor himself, he competed in five national championship competitions and was a 2-time NCAA Division III Track All-American. Maleniak also served as a team captain and was named MVP of the track team after his senior season. He is the UW-Eau Claire school record holder in the indoor mile and outdoor 1500 meter run. He also holds a U.S.A. Track and Field Level I certificate.

Coach Maleniak resides in Dubuque, Iowa.

Jordan Pingel
Graduate Assistant - Track and Field | Cross Country
BA, University of Northern Iowa

Jordan Pingel begins his first season leading the Spartan jumpers, specifically the horizontal jumps for the men’s and women’s teams.

Prior to UD, Coach Pingel competed at the University of Northern Iowa where he was an All-MVC performer and a contributor to the Panthers MVC Championship in 2018. Pingel earned his degree in Kinesiology at UNI and was also honored as a scholar-athlete for the Panthers.

Pingel, a native of Pella, Iowa, now resides in Dubuque where he is completing his master's degree in sports management. Coach Pingel is First Aid/CPR/AED certified.

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Junior Fabiola Ortizhad her best season for the University of Dubuque women's cross country team after breaking the school record, becoming an All-IIAC selection for the second straight season, and claiming NCAA All-Region honors while missing out on the Division III National meet by less than one second. Former assistant and first-year head coach, Geoff Gundlach, and Ortiz led the Spartans to a seventh-place showing at the Iowa Conference Championships hosted by Loras at the Dubuque soccer complex.

Ortiz placed third at the Iowa Conference Championships in a time of 23:42 and became the only Spartan woman in history to earn First Team All-IIAC honors for a second time. The historic feat came a little over a month removed from her school record time of 22:25 set in a fourth-place showing at Grinnell's Les Duke Invitational. Ortiz crushed the old record by over 13 seconds and added to her list of UD accolades.

In the final meet of the season, Ortiz placed 12th at the Division III Central Regional and placed behind a pair of IIAC runners for the final two individual representatives from the region. As it was, the top two teams at the Regional meet automatically qualified for Nationals with the next seven runners qualifying for the National meet who are not on qualifying Regional teams. Ortiz's time of 22:51.7 was just behind the 22:51.0 of 11th place.

Backing up Ortiz was junior Kiersten Wenthold, sophomore Kayla Kinateder, sophomore Kristin Mackenburg, freshman Abby Ray, sophomore Katrina Pagel, and sophomore Bobbi Jo Helgemoe. Wenthold was a consistent No. 2 threat throught the season and was the Spartans lead runner in their season-opening meet at the Central College Invitational on September 5.

The Spartans claimed their highest team finish of the year with a second-place showing at Wisconsin Lutheran's Warrior Invitational on October 3. Ortiz collected her unofficial first win of her career after placing second to an unattached runner while Wenthold claimed her highest finish of the year in 11th.

"I believe our ladies persevered through some unexpected set backs this year to evolve as a group, and enjoyed our time together fighting for improvement," first-year Head Coach Geoff Gundlach said. "I think they all have a resounding appreciation and love for one another and want to continue to grow and earn our progress as a group. It was tough at times, but their camaraderie and enjoyment for one another made for a tremendous environment at practice and at meets this year.

In the classroom, the Spartans impressed with six of their consistent varsity members receiving Academic All-IIAC recognition.

Seniors were a non-factor for the Spartans as every runner returns from this year's squad.

Season Overview

The Spartans finished fifth place at the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Championships to match their best finish in school history set in 2012. The 139 points accumulated was the Spartans best point total ever. Sophomore Fabiola Ortiz paced UD throughout the season and became the second Spartan to earn First Team All-IIAC honors after a sixth place finish at the IIAC Championships. Ortiz’s time of 22:53 is second all-time in UD history and broke her previous best of 23:05, set at the Warrior Invite earlier in the year.

Ortiz’s third place finish at the Warrior Invite secured a second place team showing at the 14-team Warrior Invite on October 4. The Spartans best finish of the year was aided by a pair of veterans, seniors Brenda Nava and Rachael Busjahn, and two freshmen, Skylar Brooks and Kristin Mackenburg. Nava was a staple as the primary number two runner throughout the year and set her final personal record (24:10), good for eighth all-time in UD history, at the NCAA Division III Central Regionals. Busjahn, the multi-event specialist on the track, capped her career at Regionals and set a personal course record by over 30 seconds.

Nava and Busjahn were the first of many personal records set at Regionals after nearly every UD varsity runner set a personal course or personal overall record at the Central College cross country course in the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex. The Spartans improved to 18th place, up five spots from a year ago, with a bright future on the horizon. Besides the trio of seniors, Nava, Busjahn, and Sam Holen (Top-20 all-time, 25:07), the remaining varsity spots were occupied by underclassmen throughout the year.

"We had a good mix of experienced women who were used to being counted on for scoring, combined with relatively inexperienced sophomores, and freshmen who worked hard, got better, and were entrenched in our Top-10 runners all year," said Assistant Coach Geoff Gundlach. "It was neat to see how this group could come together to challenge one another to improve. It was the hardest working group we have had in the last four years of this program and it showed quite a bit. We were proud of this group's consistent mentality, passion, enthusiasm, and improvement."

Season Overview

The University of Dubuque Women's Cross Country team finished in seventh place at the 2013 Iowa Conference Championships with freshman Fabiola Ortiz leading the way in 26th place. Juniors Rachael Busjahn and Brenda Nava were the Spartans top finisher in three races each. The Spartans top performance of the season came at the Dr. Tucker Invite with six student-athletes running personal best times. Busjahn led the way with the ninth fastest time in school history at 24:20.4. Ortiz was close behind at 24:28.1 for the tenth fastest time in school history.

Season Overview

The University of Dubuque Women's Cross Country team finished in fifth place at the 2012 Iowa Conference Championships. Senior Megan Bloedow was the top Spartan finisher in seven of eight races. Senior Beth Michaelis led UD at the DIII Central Region Championships. Bloedow ran the fastest 6k time of the year for UD at 23:57.9 at the Wisconsin Lutheran Warrior Invite. Dubuque placed two runners in the Top 5 at the Spartan Igniter with Bloedow (3rd) and Michaelis (5th). Bloedow also finished third at the Dr. Tucker Invite.

Season Overview

The University of Dubuque Women's Cross Country team finished in eighth place at the 2011 Iowa Conference Championships. Junior Megan Bloedow was the top Spartan finisher in three of the six races. Bloedow also finished with the top 6K time of the year for UD at 24:59.5 at the IIAC Championships.

Season Overview

The University of Dubuque Women's Cross Country team finished in eighth place at the 2010 Iowa Conference Championships. Sophomore Bethany Michaelis was the top Spartan finisher in four of the six races. Senior Megan Michaelis recorded the fastest 6K time of the year for UD with a 23:49.0 at the UW-Oshkosh Invite.

Melissa Englert, Bethany Michaelis, and Megan Michaelis earned Academic All-Iowa Conference. As a team, UD earned the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Award for the third consecutive year.

Season Overview

The University of Dubuque Women's Cross Country team finished in seventh place at the 2009 Iowa Conference Championships. The Spartans had a balanced squad throughout the year with freshman Chelsea Kemp leading UD in three races, freshman Beth Michaelis leading in two races and junior Megan Michaelis in two races. Kemp recorded the fastest 6K time of the year for UD with a 24:17.3 at the NCAA Division III Central Region Championships. The Spartans effort at regionals earned them the honor of Most Improved Team in the Central Region.

Megan Michaelis and Kelsey Rursch earned Academic All-Iowa Conference. As a team, Dubuque earned the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award for the second straight year.

Season Overview

The University of Dubuque Women's Cross Country team finished in eighth place at the 2008 Iowa Conference Championships. Sophomore Megan Michaelis was the top Spartan finisher in five of the seven races. Senior Sarah Schumach recorded the fastest 6K time of the year for UD with a 25:26.60 at the IIAC Championships. At the Central Region Championships, freshman Katie Tipping paced the Spartans with a 28:06.2 time.

Megan Michaelis and Sarah Schumacher earned Academic All-Iowa Conference. As a team, UD earned its first USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Award since 1997.

Season Overview

The University of Dubuque Women's Cross Country team did not record a team score at the 2007 Iowa Conference Championships. Senior Caroline Zelent was the top Spartan finisher in four of the five races. Zelent also recorded the fastest 6K time of the year for UD with a 24:05 at the Brissman/Lundeen Invite. At the Central Region Championships, Zelent paced the Spartans with a 24:44 time. Freshman Megan Michaelis led the Spartans at the IIAC Championships with a 28:02.1 finishing time.

Season Overview

The University of Dubuque Women's Cross Country team finished in ninth place at the 2006 Iowa Conference Championships. Junior Caroline Zelent was the top Spartan finisher in all seven races. Zelent recorded the fastest 6K time of the year for UD with a 24:48.47 at the Central Region Championships and won the Pioneer Cross Country Open at UW-Platteville.